The year 2020 has been a wild year from the very first day up to now. From Covid-19, to politics, to natural disasters, it has certainly been anything but a calm and tranquil year. Yet one of the major most recent events happening right now is the California wildfires.

The California wildfires that you hear about now began more or less in the hot and dry month of September. There were record breaking heat waves spread across the land of California along with strong winds; the perfect recipe for a disastrous wildfire, and wildfires there were. 

One by one, wildfires broke out, scorching the once lush greenery of forest and devastating the homes of California’s residents. The fires worsened as the days continued on, turning into weeks and then months, the efforts of the firefighters seemingly amounting up to no avail. 

According to disasterphilanthropy.org, as of October 15 there has been a report of 8,486 fires spread throughout California, the number still rising. A grand total of 4,105,786 acres of land has been left charred and blackened with 9,247 structures impaired or completely demolished. 

Sadly, the fires have not only wreaked havoc on land and buildings, but as well as the lives of people and animals. At least 31 lives and an inconceivable amount of wildlife has been lost throughout these past months.

With this information, you are probably wondering what you can do to help fight against these fires as well help those who have lost so much since the start of the seemingly never-ending  flames. Thankfully, there are many organizations out there that you can donate to help California fire victims. A few examples being:

• American Red Cross
• California Community Foundation’s Wildlife Relief Fund
• California Fire Foundation
• Salvation Army
• Google 
• Enloe Medical Center
• North Valley Community Foundation

There are many more organizations out there, other than the ones listed above. All it takes is a simple search and a click from helping those who need it most during these hard times. Your donation makes a huge difference in the lives of others. 

Donating is a huge help overall, but there are still other ways to help that will not cost you a thing; spreading awareness. Spreading awareness is huge. The more people that are aware of what is happening in California, the more that can help the people whose lives were affected as well as those on the front lines fighting against the flames.

Wildfires can be devastating, as we know from observing what has been happening throughout the past few months. The most important thing to remember when disasters like this happen is to help others and much as you can. Even though 2020 has been a rough year for all of us, we can get through this together. We need to support each other as much as we can, and when possible, help those who need it.